House Hunted

It's been a while since I have been on, and to be perfectly honest, its because a lot has been going on in my life and I have been pretty overwhelmed by it all.  I promised myself I would not use this blog to be angst-y, so I think I will just say that for a while, I was seriously wondering how much more I could handle before I just broke down.

But God works in mysterious ways, and I have seen even when I doubt He is near, He is carrying me through.  (It sounds sappy, but that is genuinely how I feel.)

It all started last week when we went house hunting with our realtor on Monday.  We have been looking for about 3 months and have only found really, really, super gross properties  without much luck.  On Monday, we only had plans to look at two properties.  The first was a house in a nice neighborhood with which we were unfamiliar.  The second was a house we had seen before and had initially written off, but we were now willing to look again.

When we pulled up to the first house, I have to admit, I got chills.  The neighborhood was really sweet; the kind of place where there are basketball hoops in the driveway and kids riding bikes in the street.  A Lutheran Church was on the corner entering the neighborhood and I thought how lovely it would be to walk to church on Sundays.  We have typically been looking at the worst house in a nice neighborhood, but this house was different.  It was vey clean and polished looking.

The inside was even nicer.  Hardwood floors, 4 bedrooms... it was truly a great starter home... and potentially more.

There was something even more special about it.  It reminded me so much of my Nana.  The house itself smelled like her.  I could see how much the people who had lived in the house had loved it, just like my Nana had lived in my father's childhood home until she died.  I felt like Nana was watching over us.  One of the really hard things about searching for a house since her death was the thought that she would never come visit us in this house.  But this house put my heart at ease a little; I strongly felt that she was walking through the house with me.

When we left, our realtor told us, "If its meant to be, it will be." On Wednesday, we returned to the house with hubby's parents and the first thing out of my mother-in-law's mouth was, "This house smells so welcoming."

All I could think was, "It smells like Nana."

It seems meant to be.  On Thursday, we put in an offer.  On Friday, after (potentially too much) talking,  we accepted their counter offer.  This coming Thursday, we have a home inspection.  I know that she'll be there, too.

Proof that life is good.  God is good... and little sometimes huge lingonberries are right in front of you.

Getting Life Back with a Few Mini Projects

Two weeks ago, incredibly unexpectedly, and very sadly, my Nana died from complications of leukemia.  In some ways, her death was a beautiful tribute to her life, with all of her children, children-in-law, and grandchildren (and her one grandchild-in-law) around her to say good bye at the hospital and then celebrating her life throughout the week at family dinners, the wake, and the funeral.  However, to say that the loss of her has left me feeling empty, exhausted, and heart sick would be the understatement of the century.  I'm not sure I will ever heal from the loss of her; all I know is that I now have to figure out how to live my life without her in it, and that makes me even sadder than thinking about the loss of her.  She was just that special.

To keep busy over the last few weeks, with her continued illness weighing on my mind and then her death, I have needed some distractions, and so I have turned to my escape, sewing.  I have completed three little projects.

The first was a placemat and napkin set for a girl at my work who got married.  I don't know her that well, but wanted to celebrate her wedding by giving her a "dinner for two."  For the placemats, I used a pattern from Fresh Picked for all Seasons, a book I found tucked away in a local quilt shop.  I think they were simple, but sweet.

I then made some simple napkins (a big square, folded twice on every side and stitched).

Some women at the office are pregnant, and everyone chipped in in order to get them a gift basket full of stuff.  I made some baby bibs as my contribution.  They turned out very nicely, I think.

My husband, who has been wonderful through this whole month and will do pretty much anything to make me smile, thought they made better Noodle capes than baby bibs. (Noodle would be the beloved stuffed dog in the pictures below):

Admittedly, Nana would have smiled, too.

Life is good.  God is good.  Little lingonberries are everywhere.